Sir, the recent report on ocular sparganosis is very interesting.Citation1 Ho et al. concluded that “ocular sparganosis should be considered as a possible cause of orbital inflammation in patients.”Citation1 In fact, sparganosis is a tissue parasitic infestation that can be seen in the eye and at the orbit.Citation2,Citation3
According to the previous publication from Thailand,Citation4 the ocular lesion is the most common clinical manifestation of sparganosis. For management of the case, the main method is surgical removal of the parasite.Citation4 The use of antiparasitic drug does not add any clinical usefulness.Citation4 For general ophthalmologist, when there is a patient from endemic area or has history of visiting to endemic area with the clinical presentation of ocular swelling or mass, the differential diagnosis must include ocular sparganosis. The history of risk behaviors (drinking impure water, eating frog or snake meat or using frog or snake meat as a poultice) on how the patient acquires the parasite is usually lack.
Declaration of interest
The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
References
- Ho TH, Lin MC, Yu WW, et al. Ocular sparganosis mimicking an orbital idiopathic inflammatory syndrome. Orbit 2013;32(6):395–398
- Wiwanitkit S, Wiwanitkit V. Re: Orbital sparganosis. Can J Ophthalmol 2013;48(2):130
- Wiwanitkit V. RE.: Human ocular sparganosis in southern Brazil. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 2011;53(3):179
- Wiwanitkit V. A review of human sparganosis in Thailand. Int J Infect Dis 2005;9(6):312–316